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Alina Rehkopf

@arehkopf.bsky.social

2.1K followers 1.2K following 860 posts

Anti-capitalist leftist, powerlifter, environmentalist, recovering overachiever, ebike commuter, KI grad, trying to figure out how to apply urbanism in rural Ontario. I stick needles in people for a living. Ontario 🇨🇦

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Nov 13

New people, hi! ✧⁠\⁠(⁠>⁠o⁠<⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠✧

My day job is Acupuncturist + Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner so feel free to ask questions abt acu, cupping, herbal meds, moxa, etc.

I train as a powerlifter + advocate for MOAR bike lanes, killing your lawn, and better housing policy too.

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Reposted by Alina Rehkopf

Jason Thorne @jasonthorne.bsky.social · 2d

The Venn diagram of urban density and average household GHG emissions is pretty much a circle. Interesting study on “Mapping household GHG emissions in the Greater Golden Horseshoe” from the University of Toronto School of Cities schoolofcities.utoronto.ca/mapping-hous...

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · 1d

I don't think speed cameras are a money grab, but it's still useful to know where the money goes.

I would love to see more of it funding full road redesigns to improve safety and reduce speeds, but none of this seems that outlandish.

More clarity on what the province uses their 24% for would help.

Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · 1d

In a letter responding to a Councillor Holyday inquiry, City Manager Paul Johnson has provided a breakdown of revenue and expense numbers related to Toronto’s speed and red-light camera programs. Notably, about 24% of fine revenue goes to the provincial gov.
www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis... (PDF)

$In 2024, the City collected $62.6 million in fine revenues, including $37.3 million from ASE and $25.3 million from RLC. In total, the 2024 net revenue associated with the POA regime was $48.2 million, which was leveraged to support the initiatives noted below. For 2025, assuming full operations throughout the year, the City projects to receive $64.6 million in ASE fine revenue and total associated fine revenue of $100.1 million when also including $35.5 million from RLC. Revenues collected, and specifically those collected through ASE violations, are generally allocated to three main purposes: 1. Provincial Remittances • When including the estimated $11 million associated with Victim Fine Surcharges (VFS) for 2025, approximately 24% of fine revenues are remitted annually to the Province, including a charge of $8.25 per infraction for Ministry of Transportation Ontario searches and varying VFS surcharges depending on the fine amount for victim services. 2. City of Toronto Related Administration Costs • It’s estimated that approximately 35% of fine revenues directly fund the City’s costs to administer the operation of ASE. 3. Vision Zero Initiatives • The remaining fine revenues, or approximately 41%, enables the City to invest in public safety and enforcement activities, including:  Toronto Police Service – Annual operating funding is directed to the Police Services Road Safety Program, funding 18 Officers (2 Sergeants and 16 PCs).  Transportation Services Operating – ASE revenue is leveraged to partially offset annual enhancements and inflationary increases to the School Crossing Guard Program and Education Campaign  Transportation Services Capital - ASE revenue is leveraged to offset debt servicing costs associated with Road Safety Initiatives included in the 10-Year$

Reposted by Alina Rehkopf

trick van treat @derek.bike · 2d

lots of people know Łink from what he did to promote alt text usage here. this tip about pretending you’re describing an image over the phone has been burned in my brain since i saw it

bluesky post from
@knilirabaj.bsky.social that says

It's pretty cool you're using that alt text accessibility feature. It's not cool that you're not really describing the image though. Nice and simple is a good start. Descriptive and accurate is the way to go. You'll get the hang of it. Try pretending you're describing the picture over the phone.

July 1, 2023 at 10:33 PM Everybody can reply

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · 1d

A cool (13°C), rainy, fall day in rural Ontario and biking to work is STILL more fun than driving.

I do need a different/proper rain coat for biking though... Drop your recs please! I'm strongly considering one from Rain Sisters but the price tag makes me hesitant.

A woman in a long, grey, wool coat, red scarf and matching red/orange toned sunglasses smiles at the camera as she stands in front of her e-bike. Everything is wet from the rain.

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · 14d

We can't have it both ways. The cost of safety and more liveable communities is less and slower driving. And that's fine.

How-Sen Chong @how-sen.com · 14d

The problem is this:

Everyone wants traffic to be slow and safe in their own neighbourhood…
… but they also want to be able to drive as fast as they can through everyone else’s neighbourhood.

www.thestar.com/news/gta/dou...

Doug Ford’s speed camera plan sparks anger at Toronto city hall

The mayor and the councillors on Wednesday reacted to reports that the Ontario premier plans to get rid of automated speed cameras.

www.thestar.com

Reposted by Alina Rehkopf

Robert Zaichkowski @rzaichkowski.bsky.social · 14d

Thanks @ambermac.bsky.social & @brenttoderian.bsky.social for this insightful podcast discussing bike lanes, remote work, and other topics! Agreed it's not enough to rebuff anti bike lane arguments, but to also call out the political and media lies. #BikeTO #BikeSky #TOpoli #VisionZero

Amber Mac @ambermac.bsky.social · 14d

🚴‍♀️ Why is there so much hate for (and lies about) bike lanes in Toronto? I speak with @brenttoderian.bsky.social about how to design better cities. Here is a sneak peek from our chat.

🎙️ Listen to our full conversation on this week's The AmberMac Show podcast, just released today:
bio.site/ambermac

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Reposted by Alina Rehkopf

Friends and Families for Safe Streets @ffsafestreets.bsky.social · 14d

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · 14d

How to out yourself as an absolutely horrible driver (and then go cry on the news about it):

Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · 14d

Driver who racks up between $300 and $400 a month in speeding and parking tickets feels like he’s "being bullied.” www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...

Dasrath, who spends much of his time driving for work, said he regularly racks up $300 to $400 a month in parking and speeding tickets.

“When you get the ticket in the mail about four to six weeks later, the first thing I felt is anger and rage… you feel like you’re being bullied.”

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · 15d

For the first time in about 2.5 months I got soaked biking home from work today. It was actually kind of nice?

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Reposted by Alina Rehkopf

American Fietser @americanfietser.bsky.social · Sep 8

It's a good day to run errands by cargo bike, while leaving the car at home. This bike enables us to live locally with simplicity, keeping wear and tear off of our car, and saving us thousands every year from car payments, maintenance, fuel, and insurance.

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Reposted by Alina Rehkopf

Anna Bandit @annabandit.bsky.social · Sep 8

We spend so much more time together as a family now that we’ve embraced bicycles. My little cargo e-bike (radrunner 2!) makes it all feel approachable and lighthearted. It’s a real boon here in Colorado where we’ve got tons of hills and even more exceptionally fit, serious athletes.

Two bikes- a hybrid analog and small cargo electric- parked in front of a large children’s playground on a sunny day.

Close up of a green e-bike with a full front basket and a child’s seat on the back

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Sep 6

Hanover is VERY bikeable. And yet, people act like it's this outlandish thing to do on a regular basis. It feels like talking to brainwashed ppl when I bring this up.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

While there are some other mechanisms by which the gov't could technically still try to rip out these lanes, it's still very validating to see that they truly did not present any evidence at all to support their claim that removing them is a good idea.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

The glee that I feel also cannot be overstated.

John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · Jul 30

Really cannot overstate the extent to which the court was impatient with the total lack of evidence presented by the government.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

Love to see it. The safety that protected bike lanes provide is a crucial part of our transportation infrastructure.

With no evidence to back it's claims that "bike lanes cause congestion" the Ford govt will not be able to rip them out. ❤️

John Michael McGrath @jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · Jul 30

NEW: Looks like CycleToronto won in court. Justice Schabas finds Ontario's law (AND version 2) to remove bike lanes infringe S7 of the Charter and is not saved by S1, in large part because the govt had no evidence to back up its claims.

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

Amazing news, I'm going to bask in how happy this makes me for the rest of the week.

Screen shot of a news article with the headline "Ontario Court strikes down Ford government's plan to remove Toronto bike lanes"

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

Literally. Just. Drive. The. Correct. Speed. Jezuz.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

Or by putting down decals telling people to walk their bikes on the sidewalk.

Andrew Lewis FC @andrewlewisfc.bsky.social · Jul 26

My son reports the Porsche driver ran a red light and was t-boned by the streetcar.

I expect the police will respond to this by ticketing cyclists in High Park.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

Hear hear!

Even taking a moment to consider that: if ppl have to walk their bikes... what even is the point of having a bike?

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

More unhinged educational materials for all!

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · Jul 29

I went into goblin mode last night and completed what is for sure the most unhinged zine I have produced to date.

I'll fold some up tonight and put them around and see how people react lol

If anyone is interested in printing one for your own enjoyment, here ya go drive.google.com/file/d/1eVEW...

caked up mother earth in her thigh high fishnets is stomping in her stripper heels looking back at it. The words say "Milfs for Mother Earth

The earth is once again looking back at it in her fishnets but looks more coy in this one. The words say "Ok so climate change, a couple important things to note: 1) it's not too late to make a difference 2) Every 1/10th of a degree of warming matters 3) Governments need to do most of it 4) Acting as communities really matters. Here are some things we CAN do 1) Ditch cars, take transit 2) Switch to renewable energy 3) get solar for your roof 4)Share stuff, buy less 5) Don't use AI 6) talk to your friends and family about solutions. Details here (which points to a QR)

Mother earth looks at you over her sunglasses over the words "Do something" repeated a bunch of times, then under her it says "Doing anything is better than nothing", "learn how" and a qr

Mother earth is wearing a flower crown and peeking up from the bottom of the page. The words say "Biodiversity When it comes to protecting plants and animals, start by thinking local. Animals usually suffer most from habitat loss and climate change. Solving climate change is hard. Building habitat for wildlife is easier. Every action you take matters. Here's what we can do 1) Create good habitat by planting native plants 2) Stop using pesticides and get others to stop too 3) Kill your lawn, replace with useful plants 4) Fight to preserve wild spaces and to reclaim abandoned land 5) Encourage friends and family to do all this too"

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Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

Omg it's so cuuuuuute. Hello possum friend.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

I hope @chrismoise.ca is working just as hard to provide safe bike lanes and other travel routes for people who use scooters and bikes so they don't have to choose between the sidewalk and the death trap that is many of the roads in Toronto. 👍🏼

Screenshot of a post that has all comments and quote posts disabled.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 30

Update:

We hypothesize that the protective insert may have been rubbing just a little on the tube (there are weird wear marks) and the combination of that + extreme heat yesterday may have been the final straw that caused a leak.

A bike flipped upside down with the back wheel removed. A person, only torso visible, holds the wheel while reinstalling the tire after a flat tube has been changed out.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 29

Anyway, this just feels like another short-term gain / long-term problem kind of project that is typical with Ford's govt. We can have vision for the future, but if it doesn't include stewardship of those natural tourism resources, I think it will diminish the value of the whole thing.

Alina Rehkopf @arehkopf.bsky.social · Jul 29

We already know that ppl driving everywhere is the least efficient way to get ppl places so why not plan new developments around increased, frequent long distance transit services that expressly facilitate tourism.

Over time that could turn into a network of transit options along the whole coast.